Top SmackDown Name Rumored For Heel Turn, Original Lio Rush Plans

– At yesterday’s Crown Jewel, WWE hosted their first World Cup Tournament. The finals came down to RAW’s Dolph Ziggler and SmackDown’s The Miz. WWE did a spot where The Miz looked to have been injured in the finals, but that was part of the angle. With The Miz not able to continue, SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon took his spot and won the trophy. Shane winning the tournament was planned from the beginning.

During the Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer commented how WWE is getting ready to turn Shane into a heel. Since Shane returned to WWE a few years back, he has only portrayed the face and recently returned to TV after taking time off to heal several injuries.

As for why Shane will be portraying the heel, we will have to see wait and see what WWE has in the works. Like the last three WrestleManias, Shane is expected to compete. There is no rumored opponent at the moment.

– Original plans for Lio Rush had been for him to work as a heel on 205 Live. It would see a role similar to how Rush was portrayed in NXT. There, Rush was partnered with Babatunde Aiyegbusi, who stands nearly seven feet tall and fans might remember him as one of the 50 entrants from the Greatest Royal Rumble Match.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Rush would basically use the much larger wrestler to his advantage and WWE wanted to make Rush the top heel of 205 Live.

While Rush did debut on 205 Live in June and still worked a few matches on that brand, he ended up being paired with Bobby Lashley. On RAW, Rush serves as the manager and mouthpiece for Lashley; with both now serving as heels.